Good book karma, an essential survival skill

I am in love with this phrase "good book karma" from Agent Obscura (I read way too many book agent blogs, they provide such an important behind the scenes look at book publishing) and as soon as I read it realized it's what I try to do. Try, always trying, on all fronts, but I do and think it's really the only right way to do things, both for my soul and for my publishing career. I originally had "your" but I know that everyone goes about things a different way and I have no clue how you should do anything, but I would highly recommend taking a page from these awesome women. Here's a snippet from Agent Obscura's blog, but read it all and see if you don't greet good news from your friends in a new way:

I got an email from an editor the other day asking if I had a certain type of project, which I didn't... but I knew another agent who did. So, I called that agent and told them.

A lot of people don't get this. Don't get "good book karma" - and to be honest, it's not easy. I wish, wish, wish I had the project that the editor wanted. I'm competitive! Of course I wanted to be the one to make a sale, but I'm not so stupid or silly that I would book-block someone else just because it wasn't me making the sale.

One of my clients, Lawrence, once said, "I learned that other people don't have to lose just because I win." And vice versa.

But sometimes I still have to remind myself. It's difficult to watch others succeed while you struggle. I totally get that. I know authors have to do it constantly - watch one of your critique partners (who totally isn't as talented...hehe) get deal after deal while you wait patiently for your turn. It sucks. I know.

Along the same lines, Janice Erlbaum's loves the same memoirs I do, so she's gonna be who I go to for advice on what to read next.

Booksquare has some interesting thoughts on my MySpace article. Please note that I wasn't personally advocating any techniques; hell, I don't really use the site myself to promote my books so much as just to have fun. I think there are creative ways of doing it but I agree, it can't be all PR, no humanity.

Which brings me to the laziness I see all the time, people who expect things to come to them, no pain, all gain. People want other people to: promote their book, find them an agent, do the research for them. I'm not talking about asking for a simple name or favor or bit of advice. I regularly see postings to mailing lists that ask questions like, "How do I find an agent/write a query letter/submit a story?" whatever, things that show the person has not taken one single step on their own to find out this information. It's not that writers work in isolation; we don't. Well, I don't; I can't. But at the same time, I learn by doing. When people make no effort at all and just want someone else, especially someone they don't know, to lead them down some very basic paths, or take extreme shortcuts, I think that's foolish.

To piggyback on, let's just use it as an example, what other authors are doing on MySpace without actually caring about the process, seems pointless. It's not that being on MySpace will instantly boost sales; I highly doubt it will, and anyone looking at it simply in that way I think doesn't really understand the nature of longevity and building a career and an audience. You can't copy authenticity or enthusiasm. I think that's part of why our cupcake blog, and hopefully future cupcake projects, get such a big response: because we are genuinely excited about cupcakes. I don't have to fake that one iota, and as I rattle off info to reporters about the number of cupcake bakeries in New York or what's happening with wedding cupcakes, I realize just how much I've learned about them in the last two years, with new knowledge coming in every day. Stuff I'm psyched to know about, just because I am. I couldn't work up that enthusiasm for, say, baseball. Or even brownies.

Of course, I'm a whore and can be bought for the right price, in fact, I'm just pining away for the day I can cash in on all this stuff, but at the same time, I do actually care about what I'm writing. All the projects I've had to relinquish and, I fully admit, usually not in any kind of gracious way because I'm emotionally inept, were because my heart wasn't in them. I know that's a luxury, but my brain also blocks at a certain point; it maybe knows things before I fully acknowledge them, and sortof stops working when faced with an insurmountable project. I actually could not get the words out because I had no words, I had no interest, I had no true motive besides cash and, Sallie Mae be damned, for me, that just wasn't enough.

My point is, if your heart's not in it, I think it shows. Doesn't mean you can't rake in the cash and I'm not advocating not trying to make money, but it goes back to the good book karma above. That's not just about what others are doing, but what you're doing. As a reader, I relate to the writers who put it all out there, who do take risks and open themselves up to the painful, dark, mortifying, not-fun places. I'm trying to keep all that in mind, even when it's hard, and even when you do have to keep some things back to protect yourself. We all do that in our own ways, it's not just memoirists. I see it in my comedian friends all the time, and other art forms, and it's powerful and scary and bonding and amazing all at the same time. It's why, when I do read something that moves me that much, I want more. I want to pick the writer's brain and know why, how, was it worth it? All of that meaty interior, and all because they made me think about something long after I closed the last page.